Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — Egypt has reported the destruction of more than 1,000
tunnels that connect the Sinai Peninsula to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

Officials said the Egyptian military has overseen the demolition of
1,055 tunnels since January 2011.

The officials said more than half of those tunnels
were destroyed in 2013, particularly in the aftermath of the overthrow of Egypt’s first Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi.

“We have demolished 794 tunnels to the Gaza Strip from the Egyptian border city of Rafah since the beginning of this year,” Egyptian Maj. Gen. Ahmed Ibrahim said.

Ibrahim, commander of the Egyptian Border Guard, said all of the tunnels connected the two sides of the divided city of Rafah. The general said the tunnels were found through what he termed “advanced equipment.”

Officials acknowledged that the equipment, designed to detect
underground activity, was supplied by the United States over the last year.
They said Egyptian soldiers were trained to operate the equipment around
Rafah as well as along the 14-kilometer border with the Gaza Strip.

In a briefing on Oct. 4, Ibrahim said the demolition of the tunnels
stemmed from cooperation with military intelligence. He said MI was
providing information on suspected tunnels throughout the border area.

  Egypt sharply increased destruction of tunnels to Gaza after Morsi, Maj. Gen. Ahmed Ibrahim, Rafah